


Gala

by Punzel23



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Melendaire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:07:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 17,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29088075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Punzel23/pseuds/Punzel23
Summary: Hope you guys enjoy this one :).   It was partially inspired by Quasiouster and the "Plus One' story which is absolutely fantastic by the way.....  It made me think about Melendez pulling away and Claire feeling lost about it as well as remembering her decorating skills with the Prom.   I know, kind of a long way around but that's how it came about LOL.   I hope you like it and as always you comments/feedback is appreciated!
Relationships: Claire Browne/Neil Melendez
Comments: 117
Kudos: 58





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoy this one :). It was partially inspired by Quasiouster and the "Plus One' story which is absolutely fantastic by the way..... It made me think about Melendez pulling away and Claire feeling lost about it as well as remembering her decorating skills with the Prom. I know, kind of a long way around but that's how it came about LOL. I hope you like it and as always you comments/feedback is appreciated!

Neil walks into Audrey’s office and she hands him a folder.

“What’s this?” he asks

“Gala information” Audrey replies. “Glassman dropped it into my lap, and I’m giving it to you to handle because I’ve got 50 other things, I’m working on including budgets that have to go to the board.”

“Can’t Jenny do it?” he asks referring to her assistant

“No. Jenny can’t do it, because then it still comes back to me to handle. I am asking, no I’m telling you to take care of it” she answers

“I’m a surgeon not an event planner” He rolls his eyes

“And I’m the Chief of Surgery, who has to get budgets in, approved, as well as review surgeries and issues in the hospital. We all have to take other things on, get over it” she says angrily.

“Understood” Neil replies seeing that she’s obviously frustrated.

“Thank you” she huffs as he turns to leave her office.

Neil walks into the resident’s lounge and sees his residents working on various things.

“Listen up” he says as he holds the folder in one hand and the other rest in his pocket casually.

“We’ve been assigned to help with the annual Gala so I’m going to need your input” he tells them.

“I’m on vacation starting tomorrow for a week” Morgan chimes in.

“We were assigned, or you were assigned and are making us help?” Shaun asks before adding “I don’t even enjoy the gala”

“Event planning isn’t really my thing. I can handle security” Park says with a chuckle, “Dr. Browne on the other hand planned a fantastic prom for her patient not so long ago” he adds.

Neil raises his eyebrows remembering and looks over at Claire who is sitting on the couch with Morgan.

“Oh no, let’s be honest there’s enough rumors that fly around, I can do without the “did you hear Melendez and Browne were at a hotel together” ones” she says rolling her eyes. “So, I will defer to my lovely co-workers for this one” she replies looking at everyone. 

Neil looks up at the ceiling, in part because he wants to laugh and in part because he’s so frustrated, he could scream before just walking into his office.

“You have to help Claire or we’re all going to be miserable” Alex pleads.

“I don’t care, I’ll be on vacation and soon after I won’t be able to do surgeries any longer” Morgan smirks

“And you don’t think he’ll still be stewing on this well after that? Or that it will have an effect of what you get to do at the hospital? The gala isn’t for another month” Alex reminds her.

“I don’t do events well. I don’t even know about decorating.” Shaun shrugs, “Claire did do a good job decorating for the patient’s prom” he adds.

“Come on Claire. Either you help with it or we will all be miserable” Alex says as he sits the medical magazine, he was looking at down.

“It’s for the greater good Browne, come on. We promise to shut down any rumors we hear” Morgan says throwing her hands up.

“I’ve got to get to my rounds” Claire says getting up to leave.

Neil sits in his office and considers forcing them to help, then of course it will probably turn into more of a hassle than it is already. He briefly considers asking Jessica before determining that it’s probably not a good idea, he recently heard she was getting serious with someone and he didn’t want to make it look as though he was jealous.

The next day Alex brings in donuts for the nurses and picks up a special pastry for Claire.

“What’s this for?” Claire asks suspiciously

“Just being a thoughtful co-worker” Alex replies.

“It’s bribery” she replies rolling her eyes

“But is it working?” Alex asks as they walk.

Later, Claire gets paged for an ER call and Shaun offers to take it.

“I can go” she says

“Are you sure? I can take it for you” Shaun offers, “then you can think about the gala” he tells her.

“Seriously?” she asks shaking her head.

She takes the consult in the ER but as she walks down her phone is being blown up with text. She looks to see what is going on and it’s Morgan. 

  
Morgan:

Have you told him you’ll help?

Morgan:

I’m willing to make a deal. Name your price

Morgan:

You know you want to hang out with him anyway.

Morgan:

Seriously Browne! Take one for the team!

Morgan:

Kidding. But you know he’s going to be grouchy and unbearable if you don’t so save us all from that. I’m sorry for the complaint. I told you that. I didn’t mean to mess things up.

Claire huffs as she responds as she quickly types “I’m busy Morgan!” and shoves the phone back in her pocket. 

She and Neil’s relationship changed after the favoritism complaint. At first it seemed to be like they’d worked through it but then Dash came to see her at the hospital and there were still a few rumors that would make their way around occasionally. Soon, there were no more runs or bantering, he was still very polite and professional but professional is where it stayed. She was upset because he bought into the rumors. Maybe it was time to actually have a conversation about it.

After finishing up with her consult in the ER she decides to go and check out the hotel that Melendez is going to look at for the gala.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for your feedback :)!

Neil stood in the large ballroom and tried to figure out where to start. He hears the door open but assumes it must be the hotel manager coming to offer some additional information. 

“Where should we start? Color schemes, appetizers, centerpieces?” she asks walking in

“What are you doing here?” Neil asks

“Surgery was cancelled so I had my afternoon open up and thought I’d come help and it would give us the chance to talk.” she replies.

She and Neil hadn’t talked much after the favoritism complaint. In fact, it would be pretty safe to say he acted like she had the plague. 

“I’ve got this” he says looking around the room.

“Of course, you do. So, we could just talk about what’s been going on.” she says as she looks directly at him.

“There’s nothing to talk about” he replies furrowing his brows.

“What do you think about twinkle lights? Too prom?” she asks changing the subject as she looks around the room.

She moves around the room with decorating ideas and he jots down notes. 

“I mean, is this the place you want to have it or are you checking out other hotels?” she asks

“Um, I think this will work. You’ve got some good ideas” he replies with a smile.

“Really, or you just don’t want to hear about how we went to multiple hotels together? Because if you want to go check them out first and then have me help after you choose” she replies

“This one works” he says not commenting further.

“Ok” Claire replies as she skims through a hotel events book.

Claire takes the notepad and sketches out a rough draft of what they’ve talked about. They then sit down and look at center piece ideas.

“We could use these” she points to some in the brochure, or we could easily make our own for a third of the price” she tells him.

“Sounds good, as long as you promise to help follow through” he laughs knowing it’s not his thing.

“Let me buy you a drink for your help today” Neil offers.

It’s been nice to throw ideas back and forth about what would work best and he’s not ready for it to end yet, even if he’s not completely conscious of that fact. He misses her and today he realized just how much he does. It has been equally as hard on him with the favoritism complaint as it has her.

“Ok” she smiles, and they walk over to the hotel bar. 

The bartender comes over get their drink order.

He orders a whisky and she a wine.

“You guys staying here?” he asks

“No, we’re planning a work event” Neil answers

“Oh” the bartender replies as he looks over at Claire and smiles.

“Since I volunteered to help, can I get out of the actual event?” Claire laughs

“Uh no. Sorry, not how it works. Otherwise, everybody would be volunteering” Neil replies.

“Had to try” she shrugs

“Don’t blame you” he chuckles.

They reminisce about prior galas and co-workers who had too much to drink so now the hospital puts a limit on free drinks and does a cash bar.

“Thank you. For coming today to help, I’d still be in there trying to figure out where to start” he says as he swirls the drink around in his cup.

“Not a problem. After all, what are Residents for?” she smiles

He catches her jab of replacing ‘friends’ with ‘residents’ and doesn’t say anything. That is until he finishes his drink and gestures to the bartender for another one.

“Can I get you more wine beautiful?” the bartender asks

“Sure” she smiles as she sweeps her hair on her shoulder.   
Neil catches it and side eyes her, but she doesn’t notice.

“You know, it’s not easy for me either” he blurts out after the bartender walks away.

“What isn’t?” she asks caught off guard.

“This” he gestures between the two of them. “You act like I left you hanging and that’s not it at all” he replies as he takes another gulp of his drink shaking his head and looking straight ahead.

“I haven’t acted like anything. And if I did, I’m not sure how you’d know, after all you’ve avoided me like I have the plague or something” she shoots back

Neil shakes his head and scoffs taking another drink.

“I thought we were friends Neil,” she says emphasizing his name, “but a few whispers and you run the other way as fast as you can. It’s sad, because it’s definitely not who I thought you were” she tells him angrily as she picks up her glass and takes a drink focusing on not allowing the tears to fall from her eyes.

Neil takes another drink of his whiskey and stares down into the glass.

“The thing about whispers, rumors” he begins as he pauses looking into his glass as he swirls the drink around, “is that most times there’s a little bit, sometimes more, of truth to it for it to work” he explains

Claire lets out an ironic laugh, “So” she says pausing trying to collect herself and get her emotion under control, “YOU bought into the rumors and was afraid that in my 'girly little mind' that I couldn’t distinguish a line and be adult enough to have a platonic friendship? Thanks for that vote of confidence!” she says as she finishes the rest of her wine and ask the bartender for a shot of tequila. Assuming she’s not taking it alone he pours Neil one too.

She’s so angry she wants to cry but doesn’t want it to look like a sign of weakness.

Neil finishes off the rest of his drink and sits the glass down.

She takes her shot and looks over at him “You may be attractive but I’m not a lovesick teenager so you can get over yourself.” She worked very hard to push back those feelings of being attracted to him and would have never compromised that, but he just left when things got questioned.

Neil takes his shot and puts the glass down firmly on the bar.

“It wasn’t you I was concerned about crossing a platonic line but thank you for that vote of confidence” he says as he looks straight ahead.

Claire looks over at him, holding her breath, her eyes widening and filling with tears as she looks at him in shock. She felt a little guilt and was defensive because in the back of her mind those feelings were there, but she kept them compressed and put away.

“I..” she begins but he cuts her off.

“I’ll see you at work tomorrow” he says still not making eye contact as he goes to leave.

“Neil” she calls but he ignores her. 


	3. Chapter 3

The next day he acts as though nothing had happened when he walked into the Residents lounge. 

“We have a patient to meet with that is on their 3rd opinion, so I want to make sure we cover all of our bases.” He explains handing both Shaun and Claire a file. Claire tries to make eye contact, but Neil moves on quickly. To anyone on the outside there isn’t any apparent issue, but Claire knew the truth and it was eating away at her.

Shaun went to drop off the lab work and Claire headed to the lounge to get everything set up. Neil came in, not realizing a first that it was just her. He turned to leave but she noticed him as she turned from the board. 

  
“Dr. Melendez” she said as he tried to exit.

“I’ve got to go check on something really quick, I’ll be right back” he replied. He felt a little silly, but he could only do what he could and being alone with her at the moment was pushing it.

Ten minutes later after Shaun had come into the room Neil reappeared to go over the patient’s symptoms. He listened to both Claire and Shaun, making sure to let each have a say in the patient’s care. 

After running some test on the patient Claire went back to his office and noticed him on the balcony. As she opened the door, he turned to see her and took his foot off the railing where it had been resting.

“Do we have the test results?” he asks hoping to control the narrative.

“Not yet, we’re waiting. It should be soon” she replies as she looks at him.

“Ok, let me know when we have them” he tells her as he heads back towards his office.

“Can we talk about it?” she asks pausing, “please”

“Unless it’s about our patient, there’s nothing to talk about,” he informs her as he goes back inside.

Claire is left standing on the balcony feeling like she’s drowning in her regret. The one person who saved her, the one person who saw her, she’s now hurt. 

The next week she is on Lim’s service, so she doesn’t have much interaction with Melendez. Thursday evening, he was set to meet with the hotel coordinator to go over the food for the gala, but he was in surgery. Seeing that he was unavailable Claire went in his place. She arranged for the food and table colors for the event. 

It was nearly ten o’clock before Neil got out of the surgery. He was exhausted and went to his office to pack his things. He noticed the reminder on his phone for the meeting with the hotel.

“Shit” he whispers, it was already something difficult to fit into his schedule now he’s going to have to try again.

The next morning, he contacts the hotel manager to reschedule and is connected to the Director of Food and Beverage who explains that Neil’s colleague came in and set up all of the food and color scheme the previous night. He apologizes for having not set the confirmation email over yet, he had told Claire he would be. 

“Thanks” he responds before hanging up. 

A few minutes later he checks his email and looks over the list thankful that she got it all taken care of. 

He wants to tell her thank you but doesn’t really want to open up for conversation after his previous confession.

That night as he heads out to leave, he sees Claire going down the stairs.

“Claire” he calls out as she reaches the bottom.

She turns, surprised to hear his voice and waits as he comes down the stairs as well.

“Thank you, for setting up the colors and the menu with the hotel” he tells her as he seems to force a tight-lipped smile as they walk out of the hospital together.

“No problem, I knew you were supposed to meet but you were in surgery, so I went” she shrugged.

They stand there for a moment looking at each other.

“I appreciate it.” He tells her as he pauses for a moment, “Goodnight” he says with sadness in his voice.

“Goodnight” she replies.

He turns to walk away when she calls out.

“You were right” she says catching her hair that is being blown wildly by the wind.

“Excuse me?” he asks unsure of what she’s talking about. He takes a few steps back towards her.

She looks down at the ground trying to think of how-to best word what she wants to say.

“When you said there’s always some truth to the rumors which is why they work” she says looking directly at him now.

“I..” she chuckles nervously, “I had it bad even when I tried to deny it.” She holds her arms out in surrender. “I didn’t trust myself not to hurt someone that I cared so much about and take the chance on losing them. Looks like it backfired” she says sadly. 

They stand there for a moment when Audrey comes out of the hospital.

“Dr. Browne, Dr. Melendez” she says oblivious to the situation. 

Claire smiles “Dr. Lim” she says with a nod. “Have a good night” she tells them as she leaves to go to her car.

“Did I interrupt something?” Audrey asks looking at Claire walk away then back at Neil.

“No” he shakes his head, but his mind seems to be elsewhere.

“Do you want to grab a beer and go over the gala information or would you prefer a 7 am meeting?” Audrey asks.

“Let’s grab a beer” Neil replies.

They sit down and order a drink.

“You know, I know it isn’t easy, but I do think that you creating space between you and Browne is a good thing. For both of you.” Audrey says as she takes her drink

“Hmm” Neil says as he takes a sip of his drink lost in his own thoughts.

“How are you doing with the planning? I have a meeting with Glassman Monday and I’m sure he’s going to ask.” She tells him.

“Good, everything is on track. I’ll email you over the information so that you have it. Decorations are planned, layout, food. So, yeah” he tells her

“Seriously?” she laughs “Looks like we just found our new Gala planner” she laughs.

“No… and it’s still early, things could go bad quickly so I wouldn’t push it” he teases.

They discuss general hospital happenings over a couple more drinks. 

“You ok?” Audrey asks

“Yeah I’m fine” Neil replies

“You seem off” she says trying to describe his mood.

“No, it’s just been a long day. My boss threw this whole Gala thing on me, so it’s been a lot recently” he teases.

“She sounds like a real witch” Audrey laughs.

Neil signals the bartender to get the tab.

“I’ve got this” Audrey says taking the tab. “Make up for that evil boss of yours” she laughs

Neil laughs, “She’s not all that bad.”

He gets in the car to drive home and again his mind goes back to Claire outside the hospital tonight telling him that there was some truth to those rumors. Just as he was moving past the thinking of her every moment of the day stage, this happens.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday :). Hope you guys like this chapter. As always your feedback and comments are super helpful!

The hurt in Claire’s face outside the hospital haunted him, knowing that she had feelings for him as well but also understanding that they couldn’t pursue them. He wondered if that opened the door for their friendship or if it would just be too much to deal with. He doesn’t sleep much that night as his brain won’t turn off its internal debate on the topic.

The next morning, he decides to go for an early run to try and clear his head. He puts in his earbuds and starts to run. Running used to be something that cleared his head, and now it’s something that makes him think of her. Coincidentally as he looks ahead, he sees her stretching by one a bench. It takes him a minute to figure out if it’s real or if he’s imagining the situation. 

Claire glances up and sees him jogging her way. She feels a sense of excitement, nervousness and dread all at once.

“Hi Stranger” he says with a smile.

“Hey” she smiles as she bends her knee to stretch. 

“I haven’t been for a run in a while and thought it was a nice morning for one” he says as he takes the earbuds out of his ear.

“Yeah, it’s beautiful” she replies.

“Mind if I tag along with you?” he asks seeing that she’s done stretching

“No, um, sounds good” she says as they start to run.

“It’s easier when you have someone to pace you” he comments

“Yeah, I try to do it with music, but it doesn’t always work so well” she replies

“Have you gotten slower since the last time we ran?” he asks jokingly as he takes off.

She runs after him laughing. They quickly fall into old habits joking and taunting each other and it feels good. It feels familiar and comfortable. 

“This was nice” she says as they walk back towards the parking lot.

“Yeah, it was” he agrees smiling

“I miss our friendship” she admits, sadness in her voice.

“Me too” he sighs. “Maybe we can work on that” he offers

Claire smiles and his heart melts. “Sounds good. I’ll see you later” she tells him as she unlocks her car door.

Later that morning she texts him a funny meme of two people running and tells him it was good to see him today.

Neil is sitting on his sofa flipping through channels when the text comes through.

He smiles at the text as re-reads it again before responding. 

“It was. I’m glad I could help you pick up your pace” he responds knowing it’s going to set her off.

“Oh, you’re crazy. I was trying to not overwhelm you” she responds

“Overwhelm me? I can take whatever you’ve got to give” he shoots back

She reads his text and bites her lip. “Stop it Claire” she says to herself.

“Fine. Rematch. You name the time and place” she responds

Neil reads her text and grins. “Tomorrow, 7 am sharp” he sends and then wonders if it’s too much too soon. He gets nervous when she doesn’t respond immediately. 

A couple minutes later a text pops up on his screen. 

“You’re on” she simply states.

They meet at the track and stretch. 

“You ready?” he asks

“I think the question is are you ready?” she replies

Neil laughs. “I’m always ready” he says leaning down to tighten his shoelace.

Claire yells “Go” and starts running.

“Cheater!” Neil yells out as he follows behind.

“Where’s the smack talk Melendez?” she hollers out

“I’m gonna put the smack down in a minute” he replies as he tightens the gap between them.

She starts laughing which slows her down and allows him to catch up.

“This is all you’ve got?” he asks as he passes her.

She pulls a page from his playbook and pretends to hurt her ankle. 

He immediately stops and goes back to check when she then dashes off.

“You so cheated” he said as he gets to their finish line.

“What? No” she laughs

They sit down on a bench beside each other to catch their breath.

“I can’t believe you cheated” he shakes his head.

“It’s not cheating. It’s competitive advantage” she replies using words he previously told her against him.

“Do you remember everything?” he asks scoffing

“Only the important stuff” she grins

“For a soft touch you sure are competitive” he says laughing

“I hate that nickname” she rolls her eyes.

“I know” he replies trying to hold in his laugh.

She smacks his arm playfully.

“Ok, what do you say I buy you some breakfast since you finished before me?” he offers

“You mean since I BEAT you?” she clarifies.

“Since you cheated and finished before me” he answers.

Claire sticks out her tongue.

“I’m going to take that as a yes. Do you want to follow me or ride?” he asks

“I’ll follow you there” she smiles

They make small talk over breakfast, again it is easy and feels all too familiar. 

“I’m sorry for the other day, and the things I said” she tells him as she pushes the food around on her plate with the fork.

“I get it. I do and I’m sorry that it has to feel so complicated” he replies

“I’m glad we can still be friends” she tells him as her hand covers his.

He smiles and nods. In that moment he realizes this is going to be harder than he anticipated.

As he leaves the restaurant, he gets a call from his friend Joe.

“Joe, what’s up?” Neil answers

“You never answered my text yesterday” Joe replies

Neil groans on the inside. Joe has been wanting to set Neil up with one of his wife’s friends and Neil has been avoiding it. 

“C’mon man, it’s birthday dinner, other people will there so it’s not a full-on blind date” Joe tells him.

He doesn’t want to, but it would possibly take his mind of off Claire.

“Ok, I’ll be there” he replies reluctantly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes the obvious, isn't obvious when you're in the middle of it :-/ 
> 
> Thank you again for your comments and feedback!

Joe introduces Neil to Sarah. She’s slender with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes and would definitely be considered easy on the eyes. 

“She’s a civil engineer for Watson & Co.” Joe explains

“Oh wow, you guys have a ton of projects going on around town” Neil says making small talk.

“Neil is a surgeon” Joe tells Sarah.

“What’s your specialty?” Sarah asks

“The heart” Joe blurts out and Neil rolls his eyes.

Sarah laughs.

Neil shakes his head embarrassed. “It’s cardiothoracic”

“I’ll let you two get to know each other” he grins as he nudges Neil.

After dinner Joe finds Neil, “So?” he asks

“So?” Neil replies

“What do you think? She’s hot right?”

“Yeah, she’s very nice” Neil replies shrugging

“That’s it? I get you the chance to go out with a super-hot chick and ‘she’s nice’ is all I get?” Joe says rolling his eyes.

“I got her number” Neil gives in, “we’re supposed to have dinner this week”

“Yes” Joe says holding up his hand for a high five which Neil leaves him hanging with.

“That’s fine man, that’s fine” Joe shrugs off.

“I’ve got to get going, I’ve got an early day tomorrow” Neil replies. “Happy Birthday man”

The next day he gets in the elevator at the hospital and sees Claire.

“Dr. Browne” he smiles

“Dr. Melendez” she replies back with a genuine smile.

As the door starts to close it re-opens and Audrey steps on. 

“Good Morning” Audrey says glancing at both of them.

“You look chipper this morning” she says looking at Melendez with a sly look. “Must’ve had a good date” she teases.

Claire feels a sense of panic. Did he think their breakfast was a date? Not that she would have minded but it complicates things and that is something they were trying to avoid. Her mind races with scenarios as she looks down at the floor.

Neil rolls his eyes and is saved by the elevator opening. 

Later that afternoon while they’re working on a case Park stops in the lounge. 

“Oh, Dr. Melendez, the name of that restaurant was La Marias” Park says as he grabs a cup of coffee.

“Thanks” Neil replies as he makes a quick note.

“Do you have a date?” Shaun asks

“We could possibly try removing the lesions with a laser since they are in a difficult position” Neil comments looking at the MRI again.

“I took Carly to La Marias once. It was nice.” Shaun says still focused on the date. “Have you ever been?” he asks looking at Claire.

“No Shaun” Claire replies. “A laser approach would work and be less invasive then going in to remove them, but if there’s anything underneath we won’t see” Claire says changing the subject.

“True” Melendez sighs. We may have to go with the laser and then go in and check underneath afterwards to be sure” he says distracted by the date questions and wanting to avoid them. He’s not doing anything wrong, but it seems weird with Claire here.

His phone buzzes and he looks at it.

“Is that your date?” Shaun asks

“Let’s get one more MRI see if we can get a clearer image of this just to be sure” he instructs ignoring the question.

Claire is intrigued by the situation and feels silly that she thought Audrey was referring to his time with her this weekend. She wonders why he didn’t mention it to her over the weekend.

“Why is Dr. Melendez avoiding my question?” Shaun ask as he and Claire go to schedule another MRI.

“I don’t know Shaun, you’d have to take that up with him” she answers

“Is it you he is going to dinner with?” Shaun prods

“No” Claire replies and keeps walking.

Claire is coming out of a patient’s room when she hears Lim and Melendez talking.

“Did Joe call and tell you?” Neil asks as he writes in a chart.

“There was a picture and I commented on it and then he told me he had set you up with the girl you were sitting beside in the photo” Audrey laughs

“That man is the biggest gossip” Neil shakes his head.

“So, you hit it off?” Audrey asks “Joe says she’s your future wife” she adds

“Joe just talks because he likes the sound of his own voice” Neil laughs as he walks away.

It hurts. Physically hurts as Claire hears them talking. She’s not sure why it hurts so bad, but it’s a deep pain in her chest. They had agreed though to be friends. Just friends. She tells herself she’s being ridiculous by feeling this way and does her best to ignore it.

Neil gets ready to leave and sees Claire finishing up some charts. 

“You here much longer?” he asks

“No, just finishing these up really quick” she replies looking at the two folders in front of her.

“Have a good night” he says before he exits.

She sits there for a moment thinking about the fact he’s going on a date. She hates it. She hates her. Whoever ‘her’ is. She wondered if he’d be at the track tomorrow, he didn’t say anything, and she didn’t want to ask. They talked about it Sunday, running every other day but she wasn’t sure, everything seems to have changed.

Neil and Sarah meet at the restaurant for dinner.

“Hi” he says as she walks up dressed in a dressy top and jeans, her hair in loose curls.

“Hi” she smiles as she gives him a quick hug.

“Sorry, it’s been a crazy day” she says as they sit down.

“I understand, trust me” he chuckles

They chat over dinner learning a little more about each other. She’s funny and enjoys some of the same things that he does.

After dinner they walk out to the parking lot, and she wraps her arm around his.

“Tonight was fun” she says as they get to her car.

“Yeah” he smiles, “It was”

They stand there for a moment, “Maybe we’ll do it again sometime soon” she says pushing her hair behind her ear.

“Yeah, I’ll call you or text you later” he says with a smile as he opens her card door for her to get in.

Sarah was nice, and for a brief moment he thought of something other than missing Claire. 

The next morning Claire is at the track stretching when he arrives.

“I see you Browne, trying to get an advantage” he says as he approaches her

“Hey” she smiles “I was just waiting on the slow poke to get here” she laughs.

“Slow poke?” he questions

Claire shrugs in response. 

Neil takes off running “Let’s see who the slow poke is!”

“Hey!” she yells laughing as she tries to catch up. 

He pauses and she catches up, “that was cheating” she says as she playfully pushes his arm.

“You said I was slow” he says mocking offense.

“Now I have a cramp” he laughs holding his side

“Serves you right” she says sticking her tongue out.

They walk for a minute before working back up to a jog.

“How was your date last night?” Claire asks looking straight ahead

Neil is taken back, surprised that she asked.

“It was, um, good” he replies

“Do you like her?” Claire asks testing her emotional strength to handle the answer

“She’s nice” He replies

“Are you going to send her flowers?” Claire asks as if she can’t help but torture herself with his responses.

“Are we playing twenty questions?” Neil says coming to a stop and catching his breath. “Besides, didn’t you tell me guys who sent flowers were lame? Are you trying to sabotage me?” he laughs only half kidding

“No, I was just asking as your friend” Claire shrugs as they start to walk again. “And I only said that because I’ve found if you don’t expect something, or if you say something is lame, like flowers, then when it doesn’t happen it’s because you said you didn’t want it not because someone just didn’t do it or didn’t care. No one who gets flowers actually complains” She explains

He looks over at her as they walk.

“What?” she asks

“Nothing” he says looking straight ahead feeling confused as she seems to be pushing him towards Sarah.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me on this :) ❤️ I may have another update later tonight unless you prefer a one a day?

Later that morning at the hospital, Claire is in the breakroom grabbing a yogurt and says good morning to Lim who is making some toast.

Neil walks in and Audrey looks up, “How as your date?” she asks curiously

‘It was good” he replies

“Just good?” she asks pressing the matter

“It was a date” he snaps unintentionally

Claire takes one more bite of her yogurt and tosses the rest in an effort to escape the awkwardness she feels.

“Okay” Audrey holds her hands up

“Sorry. It was good. It’s just everyone in this hospital knows about it” he replies.

“Everyone or Browne?” Audrey asks

Neil rolls his eyes “I’ve told you. There’s nothing inappropriate going on there. In fact, we talked about it. She even suggested I send flowers” he replies

“Hmm” Audrey says stumped.

The days is busy and they are in a difficult but successful surgery for most of the afternoon. Claire had come up with a solution for the patient after their initial plan didn’t work out while in surgery. She was quick on her feet, which is a skill very important to a successful surgeon. She stops by his office before she leaves to let him know the patient is doing well in recovery and they walk out together.

“That was a tough one today, but you did good” he says as they walk out.

“Thanks” she smiles. “Hey, do you wanna grab a bite to eat?” she asks

“I” he pauses, “I’d like to but, I actually have plans” he frowns.

“Oh” she replies “No worries, I had an idea for a paper I was thinking of writing so just wanted to bounce around some ideas but maybe once I get it together I’ll email it over for you to look at” she says completely making up an excuse

“Yeah. I’d be happy to. And if you want, we can talk tomorrow” he offers.

“Sounds good. Have a good night” she says turning to leave and getting to her car as soon as she can. Her throat burns as she fights back the tears. She didn’t expect to be this disappointed or hurt that he had plans.

Neil meets Sarah for drinks. She had texted him earlier in the afternoon because she was over on that side of town visiting a work site.

“How was your site visit?” Neil asks

“Good. I do them every so often just to check in on the project and make sure everything is going well.” She replies

“How did you surgery this afternoon go?” she asks

“Good. There were some unexpected issues, but we got through it and it went well” he replied

“That’s good. Joe was telling me that you guys went to college together, that he went into general medicine and you went into surgery” she says as they get some appetizers to share.

“Yeah. He told me he had no interest in working the hours a surgeon did that I was bananas” Neil laughs

“Sounds like Joe” she says.

“How long have you known Elle?” he asks referring to Joe’s wife.

“Since we were kids. We were neighbors growing up” she replies

They swap stories about their friends and wind up drinking and laughing for hours. 

“It’s getting late” Sarah says as she flips her phone over checking the time. “I can’t believe we’ve been here that long” she laughs

“I know” Neil replies. “I guess we should call it a night, I have an early day tomorrow” he tells her as he pays the check, and they walk out.

“I had a really good time tonight” Sarah says standing by her car the moonlight shining on her hair.

“Me too. It was really nice” he smiles.

“I have a couple tickets for the A’s training game this Friday night if you want to go with me” she says

“Seriously?” Neil replies surprised

“Yeah” she grins

“I’d love to” he says smiling

“Awesome.” Sarah says leaning against her door.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow” Neil says as he turns to go towards his car.

The next day they have a few consults that keep them busy. Occasionally Neil will look at his phone smile, and then type something back on it. Claire feels annoyed but tries her best to keep it to herself. 

“You ok?” Neil asks as he walks into the breakroom and sees Claire there.

“Yeah, I’m fine” she smiles grabbing an apple.

“You just seem, I don’t know” he says trying to figure out a description.

“I’m good” she answers again.

“Did you want to go over that paper?” he asks

“Oh, um, no it’s ok. I’m still working it out” she replies forcing a smile

“What’s it on?” he asks as he grabs an orange

“I’m still sort of debating it, I haven’t nailed it down yet. I thought I had, but you know how it is” she tells him gesturing with her hand. She pulls her phone out of her pocket acting as though she felt it buzz.

“I have to go check on some labs really quick” she says as she leaves.

She hates this and realizes that it feels even worse than when they weren’t really speaking. Then she feels guilty because he’s trying to be a friend, but she doesn’t think she can do it.

As she steps off the elevator, Lim is walking by.

“Dr. Browne, I’ve been looking for you” she says smiling

“Is there something you need?” Claire asks

“For our fundraising gala, we typically try and share success stories, something heartfelt that will make a connection with donors.” Lim explains

“Mmhmm” Claire says listening

“I want you to come up with something to share. Melendez is always praising your communication skills so let’s put them to use”

“I’m not so good talking in front of crowds of people” Claire replies.

“You’ll be fine” Audrey says as they get interrupted by someone coming to ask her a question.

Claire stops by Neil’s office to ask a question but he is texting and isn’t paying much attention.

“Never mind I’ll come back when you’re done texting” she huffs annoyed.

“Sorry, I’m paying attention” he says looking up at her then glancing down at the phone again.

“Yeah, looks like it” she rolls her eyes

“Hey” he replies sternly “I don’t know what the attitude is about but I’d recommend dropping it now” he tells her letting her know he’s still her boss without actually saying the words.

She nods and turns to leave.

“Claire” he says causing her to stop and turn around

“Yes sir?” she replies knowingly factitious

“What is it you needed?” he asks trying to move past the moment prior

“Nothing, I’ve got it. I guess I should’ve just given it a minute. Thanks”, she replies

That night they walk out at the same time.

“I’ll see you at the track in the morning” he says as they walk out the door.

“Actually, I meant to say something earlier, I won’t be able to make it tomorrow” she replies

“Are you mad at me?” he asks

“No” she answers

“Why are you mad? Because of earlier?” he presses

“I’m not mad! I have a dentist appointment in the morning” she tells him

“Oh, ok. Raincheck then” he says knowing there’s more to this than she’s saying but now isn’t the time to take it on.

“Sure” she says forcing a smile.

Claire gets home and tries to come up with ideas for her presentation. She absolutely dreads it. She wonders if Neil will be bringing his new girlfriend with him which makes it even worse. Picking up her phone she opens a dating app Morgan insisted she download. She swipes through various profiles and reads them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here's another chapter for today :). Thank you all again for your comments and feedback!

The next day Claire is quieter than normal and doesn’t make much eye contact with Neil. He is conscious of having his phone out and makes sure that he keeps it put away if it’s personal. Claire’s blow up may have been out of line but she did have a point that he had been very involved with texting and so he felt guilty. 

That evening before he leaves Neil stops by the locker room to see if Claire is there.

“Hey” he says seeing her standing in front of her locker.

“Hi” she replies as opens it up.

“I thought I’d stop by and see if you might want to go for a run tonight since we didn’t this morning.” He offers.

She doesn’t want to, in fact what she wants is some distance but it took some effort for him to offer. “Sure, we can do that” she says giving in.

The jog is mostly quiet. Eventually Neil breaks the silence, “I’m sorry about yesterday. I over reacted and shouldn’t have. I should have been paying attention.” He tells her.

“It’s fine” she replies, “I was frustrated because Lim wants me to give a presentation at the gala” she explains which is only an excuse to her attitude.

“That might be my fault” he chuckles “I’m sorry”

“Yeah” she huffs and then chuckles “It’ll be fine” she says as their jog turns into a walk.

“I through your name out there because they wanted someone who was good at connecting with people” he explains.

Claire nods, “I’m just not great connecting with crowds” she laughs

“You’ll do great. You always do” he smiles

“How are things going with… what’s her name?” Claire asks feeling the need to torture herself again.

“Sarah. They’re good I think” he replies

“You think?” Claire asks curiously

“She’s nice, really funny and we have a lot in common” he says as he stops to tie his shoe.

“That’s good, so why do you sound so unsure?” she asks

“I don’t know” he pauses “I haven’t even kissed her yet” he says with a laugh “is that weird?”

“What are you waiting for? You’ve been a few dates, right?” Claire asks not realizing she’s holding her breath waiting for his answer.

“Honestly, I’m not sure. It just hadn’t seemed like the right moment” he answers as they start to jog again.

“She seems to make you happy. If she’s the right girl, stop waiting for the right moment because it might pass you by. You deserve to be happy.” Claire tells him looking over at him briefly.

Claire decides that what’s important is that he’s happy, even if it can’t be with her. She’s sure that his dating will eventually take precedence and their runs and time spent outside of work together will become less and less. It’s still better than resenting each other.

Neil goes on his date with Sarah to the A’s game. They are having great time but he feels distracted by his conversation with Claire and the conflicting feelings he had about it all. The score to the game is close and the bases are loaded. They watch intently as the next batter comes us. It may be ‘just a training game’ but anyone who is a fan knows that’s never the case if you win it. 

The batter has 3 balls and two strikes so the next pitch is it either way. The sound of the bat making contact with the ball creates a giant “crack” that is heard throughout the ballpark. Both Neil and Sarah jump to their feet watching the ball go farther, and farther until it was over the fence. 

“Yes!” Neil hollers pumping his fist into the air.

Sarah turns to him in excitement as fireworks start going off and leaps into his arms. He wraps his arms around her squeezing her in celebration. She moves her face back and kisses him. Pulling back, she moves a stray piece of hair from her face, “I got caught up in the excitement I guess” she says tilting her head to the side.

“Excitement is good” he chuckles as they look to see the player get doused with a bucket of ice water when he crosses home plate.

The following week is busy with getting things ready for the gala Friday night. Neil and Claire’s running schedule is thrown off due to various events from meetings to rain. 

Claire is working on her presentation and making sure it’s in order. She and the other residents are sitting in the lounge discussing the Gala and everything they have to do to prepare.

“Guys have it easy. A suit and you’re done” Morgan says flatly

“Do you think Dr. Melendez will bring his girlfriend?” Shaun asks

Claire groans on the inside thinking about it. It’s inevitable she’s sure but does it have to happen yet?

“Are you bringing Lea?” Claire asks Shaun

“Yes. Are you bringing a date?” he asks

“No, I think I’ll be solo” Claire smiles

“What about you Morgan?” Shaun asks

“I lost a bet, so I will be hanging out with Park” she replies

“Hey, it feels awkward to be at these things alone” Park says before adding “Sorry Claire”

Claire laughs, “No offense taken. I’d rather be miserable alone”

“For such an empathetic person, you can be a downer” Morgan says looking at her curiously.

Claire gets a page and heads down to the ER. She sees Melendez in the cafeteria sitting with as attractive blonde woman. She wonders if that is Sarah. 

“Ugh” Claire things to herself wishing the woman wasn’t as pretty or that there was something she could hate her for before concluding that maybe she didn’t need a reason. She heads inside the ER for her page.

Park and Shaun walk downstairs and see Melendez as well as he gets up and walks the woman to the door. Looking up he sees his residents standing by the stairs.

“What are you guys doing?” He asks

“Is that your girlfriend?” Shaun asks in return

“We were headed down to the lab to check on some results” Alex chimes in trying to smooth things over.

“She’s very pretty, is she coming to the Gala?” Shaun asks

Neil gives a blank stare.

“We’re going. Now.” Alex replies.

Later when Alex runs into Morgan and Claire he mentions that he saw Melendez with his girlfriend downstairs.   
“Oh, yeah I thought I saw him with someone” Claire says nonchalantly

“And you didn’t mention it?” Morgan asks appalled

“It’s none of our business” Claire says rolling her eyes.

Neil is walking to his office when Audrey comes up beside him.

“I hear your new girlfriend came by” she says with a sly smile

“What?” Neil replies, “My residents have big mouths”

“So, it must be getting serious” she inquires

“She was at a job site near here and stopped by” Neil shrugs as he heads into his office ending the conversation.

The next night is the hospitals biggest annual fundraising event. It’s one of the most stressful times leading up to it, but mostly a relaxed evening where every one dresses to impress and mingles with hospital donors.

Neil stands by a high table with a glass of champagne as people start to filter in. Andrews and his wife enter. He’s in a tux and she in a long plum colored dress, both looking cover of a magazine worthy. Audrey comes over and stands beside him.

“I hate wearing heels. I mean sincerely hate it” she says taking a sip of her champagne.

Neil chuckles, “Tell me how you really feel.”

Audrey smacks his arm and rolls her eyes.

Dr. Glassman and Debbie walk over to say hello.   
“Are you two back together?” Debbie asks excited

“Hmm? No, we’re just standing here” Audrey says confused at why she’d think that.

“Oh. Sorry, you were just standing here and laughing together looking happy” Debbie replies as Aaron rolls his eyes.

Andrews and his wife make their way over as well saving Debbie from the awkwardness.

Morgan enters with Alex, she’s in an off the shoulder long red dress and he in a suit. They stop and talk to Shaun and Lea for a moment.

“Are you two together?” Lea asks

“No, we’re just each other’s date tonight” Alex replies as Morgan scans the room.

“Where’s Browne?” she asks

“I don’t think she’s here yet” Shaun replies.

Neil and Marcus are in the corner of the room and Marcus is pointing out donors they need to make sure they mingle with. Neil hates this part but Marcus revels in it. 

Neil sips his champagne as he looks looks around at who has arrived. He hasn't noticed Claire coming in yet. He sees a woman in a sapphire blue strapless satin gown, with mostly straight hair that has a slight curl at the end talking to Allegra Aoki. As the woman turns he sees that it’s Claire and he’s caught off guard… he starts to cough after trying to sip some champagne. 

“Are you ok?” Marcus asks

“Yeah, yeah...I’m good” Neil replies trying to regain his composure.

“You’re a surgeon man, be a little more careful” Marcus teases as he leaves to mingle with some donors.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it warm in here?

Allegra walks up and thanks everyone for coming and then introduces Dr. Glassman as President and Dr. Lim, as Chief of Surgery. They also thank everyone for coming and give an overview of the hospital’s current numbers and goals. Audrey explains they would like to share some stories of the success the hospital has had.

“To do that, I’d like to invite up Dr. Claire Browne”

Claire walks up to the stage nervously to the sound of applause.

“Thank you” she says. “I’m Dr. Claire Browne, a fourth-year resident here at St. Bonaventure. I wanted to share with you some of our stories and what your donations make possible” she says as a slide comes up on the screen.

She explains the story of Casey, a little girl burned in a house fire that was treated and successfully rehabbed because of the hospital’s programs. She also shared the story of Kyle, a husband and father of three who had been to several other hospitals but due to the determination of Dr. Melendez was able to finally get a solution to his rare heart condition.

“You see, these people aren’t numbers. They are names and faces that go on to do great things and inspire others in the world. Your donations help make this possible for us to do.” She concludes and steps off the stage.

“Fantastic job” Allegra whispers in her ear as they pass on stage.

Claire goes off to the side and grabs a glass of champagne.

“You sold me” a voice says from behind. She turns to see Neil smiling.

“So, you’ll put in a donation in my honor?” she asks jokingly.

Before he can reply she’s pulled away by Andrews who has someone for her to meet.

Neil tries to find her again a little later but every time she’s in the middle of talking with someone or he gets pulled away. At one point he sees her dancing with a donor as they talk and considers interrupting until he sees Allegra and Andrews watching them very closely.

She gets a moment away and looks around the room, Morgan is chatting with a donor, Park another and Leah and Shaun are slow dancing. She sees Neil talking to someone and she can’t tell if it’s Sarah or not but to be honest she doesn’t want to know or have to talk to her so she slips out and goes to the hotel bar.

She orders a shot of whatever the bartender wants to make and asks for a fruity drink as well. Sitting at the bar she sulks in her feelings of loneliness and disappointment.

Neil happened to see her as she slipped out the door. He wondered where she was going but didn’t want to call attention to either one of them, so he waited.

He casually walks around the room waiting for the opportunity to slip out himself. Standing by a table he’s joined by Andrews and Allegra.

“The current donation pledges are higher than expected and they aren’t even all in yet” Allegra comments, adding “Dr. Browne did an amazing job.”

“Yes, she did” Marcus says looking over at the iPad.

  
“She connects with people, it’s part of what makes her such a good doctor. Also, she is the one who helped me get all of this together” Neil says looking around the room.

“She’s definitely a valuable part of this hospital in multiple respects.” Allegra replies

“I knew you didn’t do all this yourself” Andrews mumbles looking over at Neil.

Neil hangs around for a few more minutes before slipping out the side door of the ballroom.

He looks out in the lobby and doesn’t see her anywhere. Walking towards the door he looks to see if she went outside for air but there’s no sign of her. Turning around a blue colored dress catches his eye in the corner of the bar.

She is sitting alone, elbows propped up on the bar sipping on a drink, lost in her own thoughts. He comes over and pulls out a barstool beside her and she slowly looks over at him with a “not tonight buddy” look on her face until she realizes who it is.

“You ok?” he asks with a chuckle

“I’m good. I’m really good actually” she says sticking the straw in the side of her mouth and finishing it off.

“Hmm. You seem good” he laughs. She’s definitely three sheets to the wind there’s no doubting it. She has three shot glasses near her and a fruity drink she’s working on.

“You did good tonight. Allegra is very impressed with the donation numbers and credits you for a lot of it” he says with a smile.

“Great. Now they’ll try and voluntold me next year” she rolls her eyes. “Can I get another one?” she asks the bartender pointing to her now empty cup.

“Can I get a whiskey, neat?” Neil asks

“I also admitted that you were the reason everything turned out so nice tonight, so there’s that too” he tells her hoping that since she’s drunk she won’t get too mad.

“Shouldn’t you get back in there?” Claire asks

“A drink with you sounds more fun” he replies looking over at her.

She gives him a drunk smile and shakes her head.

“You can’t just leave your girlfriend in there” Claire laughs

Neil looks down at his glass. “She’s not my girlfriend, she is a girl I went out on a few dates with” he shrugs looking over at Claire.

“What happened?” She asks now curious

“I don’t know. The timing, the girl?.” he replies thinking back to the night of the ballgame.

_Everything was going great, they were laughing and enjoying the game. Then there was the grand slam and she kissed him. It was a little bit of a surprise, but it wasn’t bad however all that he could think about in that moment was Claire._

_After the game, they drove back to Sarah’s place. She asked if he’d like to come inside but he declined saying he had some paperwork that he didn’t finish that had to be submitted before tomorrow._

_Sarah reached up and kissed him once more, this time deepening it. He placed his hands on her hips, kissing her back before he pulled away to say goodnight._

_He needed to try and see where it went even though his heart was screaming no, but now that he kissed her again he just felt guilty._

_  
When she texted him later that week and met him at the hospital café, he told her that he’d love to be her friend but wasn’t ready for a relationship yet._

_“I thought I was ready, but there’s someone I’m still not over and that’s not fair to you” he explained._

_“How are you going to get over them if you don’t move on though?” she asked_

_“I…I don’t know. But you’re a great person and you deserve more than being a rebound” he replies_

_Sarah nods sadly. “Thank you. And when you’re ready to move on, give me a call” she says kissing him on the cheek._

“The timing or the girl?” Claire asks looking over at him.

“Right time, wrong girl” he says finishing his drink and gesturing for another as he undoes his tie and unbuttons a couple buttons of his tux.

“hmph” Claire says as she tries not to stare at him. “Can I get another one of these?” she asks holding up the shot glass. “He’ll have one too” she says pointing at Neil.

“Cheers” she says as she clinks her glass to his and they both take the shot.

“It’s good isn’t it?” she asks as she moves her hair off her shoulder, the alcohol making her warm.

“What’s this called?” she asks the bartender

“A Wet P**SY” he replies

Claire raises her eyebrows and laughs. “Well that happened when he undid his tie and buttons” she laughs. The bartender laughs at Neil’s surprised expression. Claire looks over at Neil realizing what she just said. “Did I say that out loud?” she asks her hand covering her face.

“Yup” Neil replies taking a drink of his whiskey.

“Sorry, that was, um. TMI.” She says laughing it off. “I should probably get out of here” she says looking at the time on her phone.

“You can’t drive, you’ve had way too much” he tells her as she tries to stand and feels unsteady.

“Just give me a few minutes, I’ll sober up” she says as she steadies herself by putting her hands on his shoulders not realizing she’s standing right up against him.

“You smell good” she says her face now in the crook of his neck as she breaths in his scent.

He tries his best to concentrate although she isn’t making it easy.

“I have a room, why don’t we go up there” he offers not actually thinking about what his offer may sound like it’s suggesting.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little shorter, but the next one will be a little longer :) Thanks again for all your feedback!!

Claire moves her head back slightly so she can see his face and she bites her lip as her eyes search his face and she nods as her hand runs down his chest. There’s a fire in her eyes that he hasn’t seen before.

Suddenly he realizes what his offer sounded like. “I..uh” he begins but she presses her lips to his, then tugging slightly at his bottom lip as his lips part to taste hers. His hand lifts so that it rests on the back of her neck pulling her closer. He should clarify his statement but right now he can think of nothing else than her body pressed to his, and the taste of her lips that he’s experiencing.

She pulls back scraping her teeth along his bottom lip and she can feel his body’s reaction pressed against her.

“We should get out of here” she whispers in his ear as he squeezes his hands on her hips.

He takes her hand and leads her out quickly checking the lobby before heading to the elevator to ensure they aren’t seen.

He watches her as she walks into the elevator, her sapphire dress swaying with her hips. He pushes the button for the floor and as the doors close his lips crash onto hers then making their way down her neck.

“Neil” she moans as she pulls him closer to her. He blocks out all thoughts about what it was, what it could mean and what further mess he may be creating. Claire kisses him until all reason seeped out and the only thing she was conscious of was what she wanted to do to him.

Getting to the room, he opens the door and suddenly they are crashing around, all hands and lips. The scent, taste and feel of him felt like tiny fireworks going off all over her, bits of her she thought was dead reigniting back to life.

As he unzips the back of her dress and his hands follow it as it drops to the ground, he can feel the phone in his pocket buzzing with text that he is ignoring. As he kisses her Claire starts to giggle, “Your um, pants are vibrating” she laughs.

“I’m going to show you vibrating” he teases as he playfully tosses her back on the bed. 

He kicks off his shoes so that he can remove his pants when the phone in them starts ringing.

“Seriously?!” he groans

“Melendez” he answers

“Where are you?” Audrey asks

“I stepped out, I wasn’t feeling so good” he says as Claire sits up on her knees on the mattress in front of him and unfastens his pants, leaving a trail of kisses down his chest.

“We’re about to present to our donors from last year, you’re supposed to be in here” Audrey barks.

Neil squeezes his eyes shut trying to concentrate. 

“Give me a few minutes, I’ll be down there.” He replies and Claire looks up at him curiously.

“Sh*t!!” he groans as Claire gropes him over his pants. “I’ve got to go do a stupid donor thank you thing” he says as he steps back.

“You’re going to leave me, half naked in a bed?” She asks saucily

“I don’t want to” he says trying grabbing his shirt off the floor.

“It’ll be 5 minutes, 10 tops” he says “just stay right there” he says with a wink.

“I don’t even get a kiss” she asks mocking offense

“I would, but I’m afraid I wouldn’t leave” he tells her seriously.

Afraid of being seen coming out of the elevator, he runs down five flights of stairs to get back to the ballroom. As he approaches the door, Audrey sticks her head out of it looking for him.

“There you are” she throws up a hand. “Are you ok? You look flush” she says concerned.

“I’m fine” he huffs as they walk inside. 

Audrey, Marcus and Neil walk on to the stage. Audrey thanks everyone again for coming and then they recognize their top donors from last year with a commemorative plaque. Neil is counting down until he can leave but is stopped as Glassman comes by to thank them all for their hard work. 

“Where’s Dr. Browne, I wanted to tell her she did a great job” he says looking around.

“I think she had to leave, she may have taken an Uber home” Neil replies

Twenty minutes later he is able to pretend to leave having to walk out the front door and then once the coast is clear enter back in and take the stairs back up, all of which adds another five minutes to his time away. He speed walks back to the hotel room door and can’t find the key in his pocket. 

“Great” he mumbles checking again as he finally checks the pocket inside his tux jacket.

He tabs the door with the key and hears it unlock. The tv and light is on, but he enters quietly. In the back of his mind there’s a fear that she’s changed her mind or maybe left completely. He takes a deep breath as he steps into the room trying to slow his every increasing heart rate.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy this :). Thank you again for your feedback and comments!

He finds her laying on the bed, still in just her underwear, sound asleep. He stands there for a moment and takes the site of her in. 

“Damn it” he mutters. It was the perfect moment, the perfect feeling and he ruined it by answering the damn phone. He runs his hands through his hair. He considers trying to wake her up but instead pulls back the blanket and pulls it over her.

After taking a shower he comes back into the room, a small piece of him hoping maybe the sound of the shower woke her up but it didn’t. He’s definitely more sober now but doesn’t quiet trust himself enough to lay in the bed with her so he opens the closet and grabs the bag with an extra pillow and blanket taking the couch. It’s small, but it’ll do if he can manage to fall asleep.

The next morning Claire wakes up with a throbbing headache. She slowly opens her eyes and groans placing her hand on her forehead. She looks around trying to remember where she is and the events of last night realizing she’s laying in the bed naked under just a sheet. She hears the door lock ‘click’ and the door opening. 

Neil comes in and she sits up in the bed holding the sheet up around her.

“Good Morning sleepy head” he smiles. He gives her a packet of Advil and a bottle of water, “this should help.”

“Thank you” she replies as she takes the Advil.

“I can order some room service; you probably need to eat something. Here’s a menu” he says handing her a hard bound book from the hotel.

“We um,” she says embarrassed that she doesn’t remember the full events. “Did we?”

“No, we didn’t” Neil replies

Claire isn’t sure whether to be relieved or not.

“You fell asleep” he chuckles leaving out the part where he had to go downstairs.

Claire looks mortified.

“In all fairness, it was because I had to run downstairs for the Gala and when I came back you were asleep” he explains

“Oh” Claire said now confused. “What happened to my clothes?” she asks

Neil laughs.

“About 2 am you woke up and kept saying you were so hot and why was it so hot as you threw off the comforter and sheets. I was half asleep but asked if you were ok and you yelled (imitating her in a high-pitched voice) ‘you left me up hear half naked’ and proceeded to throw your bra and underwear at me” he explains

Claire covers her face with her hands. “Oh my god” she mumbles. 

“Looking back, it’s kind of funny” he says

“To you maybe” she shakes her head.

He walks over to the closet and pulls out a hotel robe. “You can use this if you want” he says handing it to her.

“Thanks, I think I’m going to take a quick shower if that’s ok” she says discretely slipping the oversized robe on.”

While she’s in the shower Neil orders some breakfast, taking a guess at what she might want and probably over ordering.

  
Claire comes out of the shower with thee robe wrapped around her and glances at the time. 

“It’s 10:30? Oh gosh. What time is checkout? 11?” she asks

“I actually extended it and booked another night” he tells here, “I mean, I didn’t want to rush you or anything and just figured I’d use it like a staycation” he explains.

“Oh.” She replies feeling a little embarrassed that she slept in so long.

Their moment of awkwardness is interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Room Service” the person calls out. 

Neil opens the door, and a cart is rolled in with several dishes. There are some waffles, some yogurt, fruit and eggs.

“Oh wow” Claire says looking at the trays.

“I wasn’t sure what you were in the mood for” Neil shrugs.

“You know, I’m feeling a little under dressed. I think I either need to put my dress on, or you need to put a robe on” she smiles as she grabs a strawberry.

There’s something seductive about the way she places it in her mouth, and he doesn’t think it’s even on purpose.

“Ok” he rolls his eyes pretending that it’s a hassle when it’s not. She sits on the bed holding a cup of yogurt that she added some granola to. Her leg is propped up showing more of her thigh that intended through the slit in the robe.

Neil walks back towards the bed, now in a robe and she’s glad it’s yogurt she’s eating and not something she could actually choke on because, he’s the picture of a hot fantasy with his brown skin against the white robe.

He takes the sight of her in, his eyes traveling up her leg. “It’s a good thing this robe is oversized” he thinks to himself.

“This is fun” she says looking over at him beside her with some eggs on a plate.

He can’t help but smile back, “it is.”

The air feels electric, one spark and things are going to explode.

“I’ve never ordered room service before or stayed in a hotel for the hell of it” she laughs.

“I’ve never had a woman fall asleep on me before” he jokes looking over at her.

She smacks his arm as a reflex. “It’s your own fault” she replies as she takes some whip cream meant for the waffles and puts it on his nose.

“No you didn’t!” he says as she jumps off the bed and he reaches unsuccessfully to catch her.

There’s some melted chocolate and topping for the waffles that he gets on his fingers and as he reaches for her to put it on her cheek, she dodges quickly and moves back causing it to be spread down her neck and towards her chest.

“Neil!” she says feeling the chocolate on her neck and seeing it smeared down her body. She grabs the syrup container and threatens to use it.

“Truce” he says holding up his hands. “C’mon. Truce?” he asks stepping closer

She rolls her eyes, “ok” and he reaches for the syrup container and sits it back on the room service cart. Her robe is disheveled some from when he pulled on it trying to get her back so there’s more skin showing that she realizes. With that, the spark ignites the electricity in the air in the room and there’s no stopping it now. 

“I’ve got to go clean myself off” she laughs as she attempts to move past him.

“I coud… help you take care of that” he tells her as he leans his head down towards her collarbone and traces his tongue up towards her neck, sucking gently on her neck to make sure he gets all the chocolate. 

“Mmmmm” she moans and closes her eyes

“Mmm.. there’s some more down this way. I want to make sure I get it all” he tells her as he moves towards her breast.

She leans back onto the dresser in the room, bracing herself against it as they let go of their inhibitions and fears and live completely in this moment of hungry passion. She knew his surgical hands were talented, “but that tongue” she thinks to herself as he draws her to the edge of her sanity with pleasure. 

She surprises him as well, and ‘soft touch’ a term he’d use to describe her in the bedroom. She’s a mix of seductress and sweetness, naughty and nice. She didn’t just take him to the edge of his sanity but caused him to jump over the ledge happily and willingly.

Now, they lay on the bed still breathing heavily as he reaches his hand over and traces his finger down her stomach causing her to shiver…

“ooh… I need just a minute” she chuckles

“Oh, so you’re done” he teases

“I didn’t say that” she replies with a grin

“Hmmph” he huffs

She flips over so she is now sitting up and straddling him.

“What’s that about?” she asks with mock offense as she creates friction between them.

“I..” he laughs as he loses his train of thought seeing and feeling her on top of him.

“You what?” she asks continuing to stir him up by moving methodically.

She dips down so her breast move up his torso and chest as she kisses his jawline.

“I can’t think when you do that” he says placing his hands on her hips.

“Oh you don’t like it?” she asks saucily as she comes to a stop

“I never said that” he responds quickly as she sits back up and looks down at him.

“Hmmph” she replies turning around sound that started this conversation. 

He maneuvers and flips her over so that he is now on top.

She lets out a squeal as her heart starts racing with excitement again.

They order room service again at dinner seeing no need to put on anything more than their robes, or in Claire’s case a sheet since she can’t find where her robe went to. However, she soon replaces that with just Neil’s shirt. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me on this :). I'm so glad you guys are enjoying it!

Claire gets to the hospital and gets up to date on her current patients’ charts. She heads downstairs to check on some lab work and as she gets to the elevator Neil is approaching. 

“Good Morning Dr. Browne” he says with a smile

“Good Morning” she grins, “double fisting the coffee this morning?” she asks looking over at his two cups.

“Actually, I thought maybe you could use one” he winks and holds it out.

“Oh you are amazing” she says taking a slow sip of the warm liquid from the cup

“You may have said that a few times last night” he chuckles as he stands closer to her.

“You’re so bad” she shakes her head

“I’m pretty sure ‘good’ was the description that you used before” he teases.

The elevator dings and they walk off towards the lounge. 

“What are you up to tonight?” he asks discretely, looking ahead as they walk

“I don’t know. I had a busy weekend” she replies coyly.

Later, Neil is walking down the hall when Audrey comes up beside him. 

“We need to talk” she says seriously then pauses “about Browne”

“What about Browne?” he asks doing his best not to react. After all there’s no way she knows about what happened. He was very careful going back up to the room, they didn’t leave the room the next day and left early this morning so that he could drop her off at her place.

“I’m on my way to a meeting, but I’ll catch up with you afterwards” she replies as she turns and walks away. 

Neil wonders what it could be about and how to approach it. Was it because Claire left the gala early? That was the best guess he could come up with. He’d just explain she wasn’t feeling well, and he told her it was ok to leave. She had already done her part, actually more than her part considering her influence on so many donors.

After Audrey’s meeting she calls Neil down to her office. Claire sees him walking in with a worried look on his face and it causes her to go down a rabbit hole of what he could be in there for. She tries to convince herself that she’s being ridiculous to think it has anything to do with her. It would be impossible for anyone to know.

Neil walks into Audrey’s office.

“Can you shut the door?” Audrey asks looking up

He obliges and walks over to take a seat. 

“What’s going on?” he asks

“We need to talk about Dr. Browne” she says as she folds her hands on the desk in front of her. She watches him carefully as she tells him that to see his reaction out of her own curiosity. He doesn’t bite thought, simply replying “ok.”

“The board members were very impressed with her and her fundraising abilities.” She explains and Neil listens carefully. “They would like to recruit her to hold more fundraising responsibilities for the surgical department.”

“What do you mean more responsibilities for fundraising?” he asks not quiet understanding

“Well, they would want her to handle media request, possibly meet with prominent donors, and cultivate relationships with possible donors.” Audrey explains.

Neil chuckles, “She’s not going to like that at all” he says shaking his head.

Audrey sighs, not telling him that was her first thought as well.

“Well, it would only be for like a week out of the month for part of the year and she would in turn be a front runner for big surgeries that come up that she would like to be part of.” She explains

Neil nods processing the information. “I still don’t think she’s going to go for it.” He replies.

“Which is why I’m coming to you first. You are her attending but she also values your opinion and if you bring this to her, I’m sure you can help her see the importance.” Audrey explains.

“So this is on me?” Neil asks

“It’s not a bad offer Neil. It benefits the hospital and Claire. The board could just ask her to do it without any benefit but they aren’t.” she says sitting back in her chair.

“And if she says no?” he asks.

“It’s your job to make sure she doesn’t” Audrey answers.

Neil heads upstairs dreading the conversation that he is going to have. His residents are in the lounge finishing up their shifts. He enters his office and walks over to the door leading to the lounge, opening it slightly.

“Dr. Browne, can I see you for a moment?” he asks

The other residents look at Claire as she turns to face Melendez.

“Sure” she replies getting up.

She walks in his office, unsure of why she’s being called in. 

“You can have a seat” he says as he sits in his chair.

Claire sits on th edge of the seat, her hands pushed together resting between her knees.

“I’ve been asked to speak with you” Neil begins. This feels awkward, he isn’t sure if it’s because of the weekend of because he knows she’s going to hate what he’s about to say.

“Uh oh” Claire laughs nervously, “that doesn’t sound good.”

“No, no it’s not bad, per se” he replies as he piques her curiosity. 

The other residents not so covertly look in his office through the glass. When he glances over, they quickly disperse.

“The board was very impressed with your fundraising skills.” He explains

“I wouldn’t really call them fundraising skills” Claire mumbles

“Well, they were impressed” Neil shrugs trying to spit out what he needs to. “They want you to be the face of the surgical departments fundraising. You’d handle media, meeting with prominent donors as well as new possible donors. It would be for a week, maybe out of a month and really only just a few months out of the year.” He explains

Her face is blank, and she listens carefully to him waiting for her moment to decline.

“In turn, you would get first pick at big surgeries that come through and would also deepen your relationship with the hospital as well.” He tells her hoping the benefits outweigh her concerns.

“I appreciate the offer, I do, but it’s not something that I’m interested in.” she replies

Neil takes a deep breath. “Can you at least think it over? It’s an excellent opportunity and again would give you first pick at big surgeries that come up.” He asks.

“It would also been that for a week out of the month I’d be missing out on surgeries during that time.” She replies

“It’s a week Claire” he says as though she’s being absurd.

“Doing something that I don’t even enjoy. I work here to be a surgeon not a fundraiser.” she shoots back.

“Ok, but how do you think we are able to do these surgeries and get the equipment with the latest technologies?” he asks

“Oh, so that falls on me now?” She questions.

“No” he replies realizing this is getting out of hand. “Will you just think about it?”

“Is this one of those things where I’m totally screwed if I say no?” she asks

Neil just looks at her.

She nods, understanding his answer and gets up to leave.

This isn’t how he planned on his day ending. It’s the new awkward of being her boss and lover which might end before it really gets to begin. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, it's been a long hectic week. Thank you for your patience!

At home, he pours himself a drink as he keeps checking his phone to see if maybe she had texted him. He tries to figure out the situation and what to do. It’s awkward and uncomfortable not to mention taking everything he has not to reach out to her. He didn’t regret the weekend but wasn’t sure where they stood, they didn’t really talk about that part.

He tries to remember what he did before this last weekend because for the life of him he couldn’t find anything to get his mind off of her.

Claire sat in her apartment flipping through tv channels. She did not want to be a part of this fundraising. She was slightly appalled that Neil was even willing to bring it up to her knowing how she felt about it. Especially after they had spent the weekend together, after all what did he think? That because of that she’d give in? It was a bad idea. The entire thing was a bad idea that she let herself get wrapped up in and now she was going to have to pay the price she thought as she sipped her wine.

Neil picks up his phone and starts a text. “Can we go back to the weekend?” he types and then deletes. “Miss you” he types and reads as his finger hovers over the send button before deciding to delete it. “UGH” he groans sitting the phone down. Maybe it’s just time for bed.

The next morning Claire is in the resident’s lounge when Neil arrives so he conveniently uses that entrance to walk into his office.

“Good Morning” he says and she looks up from the laptop.

“Good Morning” she replies glancing at him.

He’d swear there was a sudden chill in the air and he grabs a cup of coffee before heading into his office. While pouring he looks over at her, knowing the topic is unavoidable. “Did you think about the fundraising role” he asks her as he pouring some sugar in his coffee and stirring.

“I feel like I don’t have much of a choice” she replies shutting the laptop. “Am I wrong?”

Neil sighs. “I’ll support you whatever you decide” he offers knowing there will be kickback if she declines.

“I should have just stayed out of it” she groans rubbing her temples with her fingers.

Neil stands there silently now feeling like she’s blaming him for her being in the situation.

“If you can just um, let me know today, I’m sure Audrey and the Board will be asking” he replies as he walks into his office.

She felt guilty as soon as the words came out of her mouth but it was too late to stop them. 

He avoided her most of the day needing to create some space between his feelings and their professional dealings. It seemed he also had his answer on where they stood after the weekend, and he realized he was more vested in the idea of them than he wanted to admit out loud.

Unable to find him, she sent a text, “I’ll do it” she simply replied and hit send.

A minute later he responds, “I’ll let Audrey know”

Not a ‘thank you’ or an ‘are you sure?’, she got the feeling her words cut this morning and it wasn’t her intention. After thinking about it, she knew he wouldn’t put her in this position on purpose. In the moment though, it felt like he thought he could ask because of what had happened between them. Seeing his reaction, she understood he was in a very awkward position that she in turn, made worse.

That evening when her shift ended she went up to his office to try and clear the air. As she walked up though, she noticed the lights were off and he was gone for the day. She stood at the doorway for a moment as she felt her heart break at what she felt she threw away.

“Hey” Joe says sitting at a table

“Hey” Neil replies pulling out a chair.

“How’s it going?” Joe asks noticing the long look on Neil’s face

“Long day. What about you?” Neil responds.

“Ehh, you know. Same ole, same ole” Joe shrugs.

They get some drinks and order dinner.

“So, you and Sarah broke up” Joe says casually

“We were together for like 5 minutes” Neil replies making a face

“She’s a nice girl” Joe says

“She is” Neil agrees taking a bite of food

“So, what happened?” Joe asks

“It just didn’t work out” Neil answers

“She said you told her you weren’t over someone” Joe tells him. “Is it Audrey?” he asks

“What?” Neil asks taken aback. 

“Are you not over Audrey? I mean, it’s got to be hard working with her every day I get it” Joe tries to sympathize.

“It has nothing at all to do with Audrey” Neil says matter of factly.

“Ok, so who?” Joe asks

“Can we not do this?” Neil asks

“You’re my friend, and I’m just curious” Joe replies, “But if you want to drop it I will”

“It’s just complicated” he says, his voice reflecting his sadness.

“So, think the A’s have a chance this year?” Joe asks changing the subject.

Claire walks into the restaurant and sits at the bar. 

As if fate and gravity are working together Neil sees her out of the corner of his eye while he and Joe are talking. He turns mid conversation to verify if he’s seeing things correctly.

“What?” Joe asks

“Huh? Nothing. I uh, Think I’m going to grab another beer, you want one?” Neil asks completely changing the subject they were on.

“Dude you’re acting weird” Joe comments

Neil gets up and walks over to the bar casually leaning against it and gesturing for the bartender.

“Two Beers please” he says

Claire hears his familiar voice and turns to see him.

“Hey” she says pretending to be surprised that he’s there when she’s knows it’s a frequent hang out of his.

Neil turns his head and looks at her.

“Hey” he replies pretending as though he didn’t see her before he walked over.

“I tried to find you before I left today but you had gone” she says trying to gauge his mood.

“Oh. Yeah, sorry I had plans to meet a friend” he replies, and he can see by the look in her eye she’s curious about the friend. He gestures in the general area but doesn’t point at Joe.

“I told Audrey you accepted the position” he tells her.

Claire nods, “Yeah, I saw her this afternoon and she mentioned that” she says playing with her glass.

“Are you here alone?” he asks

“Yeah, I just came out to get some air” she says with a tight-lipped smile.

The bartender hands Neil the two beers.

“You wanna come sit with us?” he offers

“I don’t want to intrude” she laughs nervously.

“No, it’s fine” he says as she gets up and follows him.

Joe looks up from his phone and sees Neil heading back to the table with a woman. 

She’s dressed in a dressy tank, jeans and heels with her hair pulled up in a ponytail.

“I was wondering what took you so long” Joe says as he takes the beer.

“Joe, this is Claire. Claire, this is Joe” Neil introduces.

“Nice to meet you” Claire smiles shaking Joe’s hand.

Joe looks at Claire slightly confused but smiling.

“Did… you guys just meet?” Joe asks

“No” Neil replies with a laugh. “We work together, she’s a surgeon as well.” He explains.

“Oh..” Joe replies. “So you have to put up with his arrogant ass at work all day?” he jokes

“Yeah” Claire shakes her head “Sometimes I have to put him in his place” she jokingly shrugs.

Neil rolls his eyes and looks around, “Do you guys want me to leave you alone so you can roast me behind my back?” he ask before throwing in, “By the way, he’s married”

Joe waves him off, “Oh don’t get cranky Melendez. Me and my friend Claire were just kidding.”

“Yeah” Claire laughs as she takes a sip of her drink.

Claire fits in perfectly getting along with Joe, not missing a beat. She excuses herself to use the ladies room and Joe leans over towards Neil.

“So, this is the girl you’re not over” he states as Claire walks away

“What?” Neil asks as though the statement is absurd

“It is. You can’t lie. You’re a horrible liar.” Joe tells him. “She’s nice. I like her. What did you do wrong?” he asks

“I’m her boss” Neil sighs

“Oh. But what else?” Joe asks

“But nothing else. That’s it” Neil answers.

“That’s not enough of a reason man.” Joe shakes his head.


	13. Chapter 13

An hour later Joe looks at the time, “I’d better head home. The wife is going to be calling soon.” He says pulling out some cash to leave on the table.

“Yeah, it’s getting late” Claire sighs as she reaches into her purse to get some cash for her drinks.

“I’ve got it” Joe tells her.

“Oh, you don’t have to” she says

“Nah, A friend of Melendez is a friend of mine. Especially one that knows how to bust balls” Joe laughs as he fists bumps her.

“You two kids have fun” Joe says with a wink and then sends one last shot over to their table.

“He’s crazy” Neil shakes his head.

“To Joe” Claire says holding up the shot

“To Joe” Neil clinks his glass to hers as they then take it.

Claire puts the glass down, puckering her face at the shot making Neil laugh.

“Yeah, I think it’s time to call it a night” she laughs

“You ok to drive?” he asks adding “I’ll walk out with you”

“It’s ok, I um, took an Uber here so I will call one, they’re typically fast” she says reaching in her purse for her phone.

“I can give you a ride” he offers, because when they are together like this, away from the hospital… it was like things just naturally pulled them together.

“I don’t want to make you go out of your way” she says shaking her head

“Oh stop. Come on” he tells her grabbing his jacket.

“Okay” she says as she follows him.

As they walk out she notices something completely mundane on the wall of the restaurant and laughs finding it hilarious.

“Somebody’s tipsy” he teases as he shoots her a side eye

“Psssht” she says swatting his arm and then purposely bumping her shoulder into his.

“I’m parked over here” he tells her gesturing in the vicinity of the car.

As he brings his hand back down by his side, she takes it into hers telling him to “lead the way”

He is surprised at first, but the feeling seems so right that he doesn’t want to let go. It’s only a minute that they are hand in hand, but it feels longer. He makes himself let go as they approach the car but doesn’t pull his hand away.

Claire’s heart drops when she feels him let go of her hand. Reality starts to sink back in slowly causing an ache right in her chest.

He opens the door for her, and she gets inside. 

The ride to her place is quiet, and he can feel that something has changed but can’t place his finger on exactly what it is. He also knows it’s best that he doesn’t fall back into something with her so maybe it’s ok that it has changed.

He pulls into her apartment complex and parks the car. 

“Thank you for the ride.” she says with a tight-lipped smile.

“I’ll walk you up” he says unbuckling and opening the door.

“Tonight was fun, I’m glad I ran into you” he tells her, despite the fact he feels he’s venturing into dangerous territory as they walk up the stairs.

“Me too.” She says pausing, I’m sorry” she replies as they reach the top

Neil looks at her confused.

“I’m sorry for being an ass towards you and blaming you for the fundraising position. I didn’t actually think that you had anything to do with it or conned me into it.”

“Claire, it’s fine” he tries to assure her

“No, it’s not. I just, people aren’t always upfront and then sometimes I get pulled into things and regret it later, but that’s not who you are, and I shouldn’t have reacted that way. So, I’m sorry”

“It’s ok.” He replies, “I guess it’s one of those reasons though why it’s not recommended to date someone you work with” he says generalizing his statement so not to say why you shouldn’t date someone you supervise. He tells her this more as a reminder to himself that this is how it has to be, and that Joe is wrong.

His words sting, and Claire wonders if she has ruined everything between them.

They stand and look at each other for a moment, wanting to find words that just aren’t coming out. 

“Well,” he says with a deep breath, “goodnight” he tells her turning to leave

“Neil” she calls out as she takes a few steps towards him. It’s driving her crazy to let him leave like this. To think that she screwed up the one good thing she has because she was overthinking.

He turns to look, and they’re face to face as she leans in and kisses his lips.

There’s a warmth that runs through his body as he wraps his arms around her. It feels like no time has passes between their weekend together and this moment.

Claire pulls back from the kiss and looks at him, “Do you want to come inside?” she asks biting her bottom lip.

Neil chuckles trying to compose himself. “I um, I should probably head home, it’s late” he tells her as his eyes dart from hers to her lips and his hands are still firmly on her hips.

“Do you want to go home?” she asks emphasizing the word want as she traces her fingers down the buttons on his shirt.

“It’s not really about what I want” he replies as his hands loosen on her hips

“Then what’s it about?” she asks her lips only inches from his

“The right thing to do” he says in a whisper

“In that case you should come inside” she replies her lips brushing against his as she says it.

Neil stands there absolutely frozen, torn between what he thinks he should do and what he desperately wants to do.

“Please come inside” she says with pouty eyes, as once again her lips are so close with her plead, they brush up against his. The alcohol may give her the courage to push the matter, but the truth is, she wants to repair things between them. “We’ll just have a cup of coffee” she offers.

Neil laughs, knowing that this has nothing to do with a cup of coffee. He reluctantly takes a step back putting some space between them.

He can’t. This has already proven to be messy and the first time was impulsive enough, now he not only knows better but has the experience behind it.

He looks up at her glassy eyes, “one cup of coffee” he tells her as his words betray him. He was supposed to say he couldn’t, that he had to leave but something happened when they made eye contact and he those words didn’t come out.

She gives him a satisfied smile as they stand there before turning to head into her apartment.

“Make yourself at home” she says as she puts on the coffee.

He stands by the counter, attempting to keep his guard up.

“Oh!” she says surprised suddenly remembering something and opening the refrigerator door.

“I have a friend that just started a local business making sweets, so she sent me some chocolate covered strawberries. They’re amazing! You have to try one” she says as she takes one off the plate and walks over beside him and holds it up for him to try.

He looks at her for a moment, unsure about this, mostly due to the reaction of his body that he’s trying to hide.

“I swear it’s not poison” she laughs. “Look” she says as she takes a bite as he watches intently.

She watches his eyes as they focus on her lips.

“You should taste it” she says as she presses her lips to his and he can taste the mix of fruit and chocolate still on her lips.

She wins, and he doesn’t even care. One hand is on the back of her neck as his tongue explores her mouth, the other hand finds its way under her shirt, feeling her soft bare skin. Her hands move up from his chest to around his neck as they’ve found this magical portal back into their own little world. That is until the coffee pot beeps to alert them the pot is ready.

“This is a bad idea” he tells her closing his eyes and dropping his head back.

“It doesn’t feel bad” she replies kissing his neck.

He takes a step back and tries to clear his mind.

“I missed you and I’m sorry for what I said before” Claire tells him

“I… I just think we need to think about this, with clear heads before we jump in” he replies

“I have thought about it.” She tells him with a sigh

“I should go but we’ll talk tomorrow?” he says as he quickly heads for the door.

Claire stands and watches as he walks out, and a tear falls down her cheek. She quickly wipes it, but another one follows. Everything felt so right, she wasn’t sure why he would leave unless he had decided he didn’t feel the same way.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay...things have been chaotic. I appreciate you all hanging in there with me :). Hope you enjoy!

The next morning, Claire sees him in the parking lot, he was a few spaces ahead of her and she had to walk past his car to get into the hospital.

“Great” she whispers to herself. 

“Hey” he says as she walks past his car.

She wants to ignore it but doesn’t. “Hi Dr. Melendez” she says in her most professional voice, pausing momentarily before walking again.

It’s an awkward walk into the hospital and she breaks off to walk in another direction as soon as she can. 

“I knew I should have called out today” she thinks as she goes into the locker room to put her things away. 

Claire was trying too hard to avoid him to see how tired he looked after a night of no sleep. Neil got into his office and put some visine in his eyes to try and help, after all no patient wants to see a doctor who looks like he’s been up all night.

Their interactions are professional but nothing more than that. There’s a difference in how they interact although no one can put their finger directly on the reason.

  
Neil walks down to the ER for a consult when he sees Claire standing by the nurse’s station talking to a paramedic who seems to be flirting with her. She seems to enjoy the attention that she’s getting.

“Dr. Browne” he says with a hint of annoyance.

She turns around and looks at him.   
“We have a patient to see” he tells her walking towards the room as he gives a glance to the paramedic.

“Gotta go” Claire says with a deep breath.

Neil handles the consult himself leaving Claire to wonder why he brought her in. 

“Did I do something?” she asks after he asks the nurse to draw some blood for labs.

“No” he replies entering something on the chart.

“Then why does it seem like you’re mad?” she asks frustrated.

“Not mad” he replies

She looks at him stone faced and shakes her head walking away.

Neil closes his eyes and hangs his head. Once again, he’s made a jackass of himself with her. 

By the end of the day Claire is ready to just leave and go home to sulk. She hopes she can avoid seeing Melendez since they parked so close to each other.

She thinks she’s in the clear, as she reaches the parking garage and can see her car. Until she hears a familiar voice calling her name.

“Claire, wait” he calls out and she reluctantly turns around.

“I had a really long shift, and I’m just ready to go home. Can this wait until tomorrow?” she asks showing no emotion.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left like that last night” he replies catching her off guard a little. “And I’m sorry for earlier with the consult, I was out of line”

She looks at him, trying to figure out where this is going.

“I don’t want to be here again, like this.” He explains.

She drops her head back, wishing they could just forget it all.

“The hard part is supposed to be finding the person you want to be with…” he pauses, “not figuring out how to make it work” he sighs.

“It’s complicated” she shrugs

“It is complicated” he agrees

Claire just nods and starts to walk away.

“but I’ve thought a lot about this and, no matter how complicated it gets; I would walk through fire to make it work with you” he tells her.

She stands there, feeling frozen as if she wants to react but can’t.

“Neil..” she finally gets out.

“Claire, I mean it. I should’ve never walked away and I’m sorry.” He says pleading. “If it’s not what you want though, I will respect that” he adds, and it feels like a knife to the heart.

She stands there for a moment, “maybe, it won’t be so complicated with my new position” she says with a small smirk.

“Maybe it won’t” he replies as the corners of his lips turn up.

“I” she pauses, “I do know I’d like to finish our evening” she tells him as her eyes move from his to his lips.

“Me too” he says finally releasing the breath he had been holding.


End file.
